Bold and Beautiful

Sommer is Bold!







Sommer had a project at school where she needed to pick a quality she possessed that described her best and write how her life thus far has shown this quality.

Garth and I were amazed at her writing talent and loved the adjective, BOLD that she chose to decribe herself. She had two assignments. The first, to write a poem and second, to write five paragraphs about her quality from 0-3 years, 4-6, 7-9 and 10-12, an autobiography.

Her poem, "I AM."


I AM
I am a bold person.
I wonder what people think of me.
I hear my voice standing up for myself.
I see people reacting to my boldness.
I want people to understand me.
I am a bold person.

I pretend I know what I’m talking about, even though I don’t.
I feel great when I can stand up for others and myself.
I touch people that know I will stand up for them.
I worry that I might be too bold.
I cry out that people might take me the wrong way.
I am a bold person.

I understand people won’t like me for being too bold.
I say I’m sorry often.
I dream that I’ll be able to say whatever I want to say.
I try to hold my tongue.
I hope my boldness doesn’t hurt anyone else.
I am a bold person.





My Bold, Exciting Life by Sommer Porter


I think of myself to be a bold person. Throughout my life I’ve said and done things that reflect the characteristic of bold. My parents think I’m bold, but they know my limits. My friends think I’m careless. When no one else wants to so something out of fear, I’m always willing to step up. Many experiences in my life have taught me many things. I’ve changed a lot over the years, but I’m still a bold person through and through.


When I was two, I loved to climb trees. One beautiful spring day, all the kids on my street wanted to have a tree-climbing contest. The kids gathered around a really big pine tree. The highest climber was a boy named Matthew. He had made it halfway up. I knew I could beat him and climb higher. When I said I could, everyone laughed at me. I began to doubt myself as I started to climb. It turned out I beat Matthew and almost made it to the top. I was really proud of myself. I learned that even if everyone else doubts me, I still have to try. I became bolder because I had tried and succeeded. This success boosted my confidence. More growth in my personality was soon to come, as I got older.



One big change in my life was when I started my school career. Preschool was very exciting to me as a little four-year old. I couldn’t wait to start learning. When we started to learn shapes, everybody was bored. All the kids had learned shapes already. I could tell everyone wanted to say something, but they didn’t out of fear. I gathered up my courage, and walked over to the teacher. I could feel every eye on my back as I told the teacher we didn’t want to learn this, and that we were very bored. The teacher was startled at my boldness, but the she let us out to play. I, like when I was two, learned that I have to stand up for myself. I can never be afraid to speak my mind. All these successes were making me a little too confident. I would soon realize that, as I grew even older.


When I turned nine, something happened to change my outlook on life. I loved being in the center of attention. On this particular summer day, I decided I would show off in front of my friends by jumping on top of my swing set. When I got to the top, I suddenly lost my balance and fell off. I didn’t get hurt that bad, but the fall gave me quite a scare. I realized from this that I have to make smarter decisions. I learned I have to be more careful. Previous experiences had led up to this by making me too self-confident. Soon the things I had learned would be put to the test.
During summer camp when I was eleven, we went to an amusement park. We were having a lot of fun riding all the attractions. Soon my friends wanted to ride a ride that our counselor had specifically told us not to go on. I wanted to say something but I didn’t want to seem like a dork. As we neared the front of the line, I finally said that I wouldn’t be riding. As I walked away, I could feel my face burning red. To my complete surprise, my friends followed me out of the line. They all confessed that they were just following everyone else. I learned from this that I can’t be afraid to do what’s right, even if I’ll be embarrassed. I know I have to be bold and smart at the same time. My boldness is what made me the character I am today.


I’ve learned a lot throughout my years. I’m proud to be bold and different. I know I can’t be scared to speak my thoughts and feelings. I also know I have to make smart decisions so I won’t get hurt. I can’t get cocky or too self-confident. I know who I am. I know I wouldn’t be who I am today without my boldness.